Uganda was following capitalism just like her colonial master Britain. It only came up in 1969 that Obote wanted Uganda to follow socialism. This was incorporated in a policy known as the “move to the left”. This was the first step taken to make Uganda a socialist state. The main documents in the move to the left were: The Common man's charter, national service proposal, Nakivubo pronouncements, Communication from the chair; and the "One plus three" election proposals

The UPC delegates' conference of 8th October 1969, which declared Uganda a one party state introduced and discussed the above, mentioned documents. The common man's charter rhetorically condemned the exploitation of man by man. It attacked feudalism, capitalism, disunity, and regional imbalance in production and education as sources of suffering for a common man.

The common man's charter was a document that was intended to make the ordinary people feel that they were in charge of the affairs of their country and was adopted as a party manifesto.

The common man's Charter (CMC) was a document issued by President Milton Obote on 8th October 1969, which signified Uganda's 'move to the left'. The term 'move to the left' meant Uganda's adoption of a socialist path. "

The 1968, Obote had indicated to Ugandans that he was going to pursue a socialist line. After the publication in October 1969, the CMC was adopted by the UPC delegates' conference and became official policy of Uganda. The main components of Uganda's 'move to the left' were:

The publication of the Common Man's Charter in October 1969. Obote introduced the CMC as his guiding document to his move to the left and professed his socialist principles to the masses.

The 1970 Labour Day Nakivubo pronouncement. During the Labour Day celebration on May 1st 1970 that was attended by President Mobutu of Zaire, Kaunda of Zambia and Nyerere of Tanzania, Obote issued the CMC to the people.

After issuing the document, Obote made an attempt to translate it to the people through speeches, messages, programmes and documents.